Characteristics of patients with GCA according to whether they relapsed.
| Characteristics | Relapsing Patients, n = 171 | Nonrelapsing Patients, n = 155 | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Female | 128 (75) | 111 (72) | 0.51 |
| Age, yrs | 74 (53–89) | 76 (48–92) | 0.09 |
| Cardiovascular risk factors | |||
| Tobacco use | 31 (18) | 26 (17) | 0.75 |
| Hypertension | 87 (51) | 84 (54) | 0.55 |
| Dyslipidemia | 50 (29) | 53 (34) | 0.34 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 15 (9) | 19 (12) | 0.30 |
| History of coronary disease | 14 (8) | 10 (6) | 0.55 |
| History of stroke | 7 (4) | 18 (12) | 0.01 |
| Clinical manifestations | |||
| BMI | 25 (16–37) | 25 (16–36) | 0.20 |
| Fever | 38 (22) | 28 (18) | 0.35 |
| Cranial manifestations | 152 (89) | 145 (94) | 0.14 |
| Headaches | 136 (80) | 134 (86) | 0.1 |
| Scalp tenderness | 75 (44) | 66 (43) | 0.82 |
| Jaw claudication | 69 (40) | 64 (41) | 0.87 |
| Ophthalmic trouble | 38 (22) | 41 (26) | 0.37 |
| Temporal pulse absence | 38 (22) | 40 (26) | 0.45 |
| Limb claudication | 9 (5) | 6 (4) | 0.55 |
| Polymyalgia rheumatica | 92 (54) | 73 (47) | 0.23 |
| Laboratory tests | |||
| ESR, mm | 68 (7–138) | 66 (7–138) | 0.71 |
| CRP, mg/l | 78 (3–398) | 70 (3–424) | 0.40 |
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 11.2 (7.4–14.7) | 11.5 (8.5–15.3) | 0.15 |
| Platelets, g/mm3 | 404 (140–772) | 439 (196–785) | 0.46 |
| Positive histology | 105 (64) | 101 (66) | 0.71 |
| Positive TAB | 104 (63) | 99 (66) | 0.59 |
| Large-vessel involvement on imaging | 45/114 (39) | 22/94 (23) | 0.01 |
| Treatment | |||
| GC doses, mg/kg | |||
| At onset | 0.73 (0.25–1.45) | 0.77 (0.29–1.45) | 0.09 |
| At Month 3 | 0.35 (0.12–1.04) | 0.34 (0.14–0.83) | 0.98 |
| At Month 6 | 0.19 (0.08–0.7) | 0.175 (0.06–0.65) | 0.15 |
| At Month 12 | 0.12 (0.02–0.53) | 0.09 (0.01–0.56) | < 0.0001 |
| Discontinuation of GC | 95 (56) | 110 (71) | 0.004 |
| Duration of GC treatment, mos | 29 (10–212) | 18 (6–156) | < 0.0001 |
| Cardiovascular complications | 29 (18) | 31 (20) | 0.48 |
| Death | 25 (15) | 24 (15) | 0.83 |
Values are n (%) or median (range) unless otherwise specified. GCA: giant cell arteritis; CRP: C-reactive protein; BMI: body mass index; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; TAB: temporal artery biopsy; GC: glucocorticoids.